Redeeming You (Before You #2)(16)

“You were in her room?” Alec asked opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. He tapped the bottle against his leg watching Cam.

“Yes.” Cam crossed his ankle over his other leg. “That’s the deal, right? She’s my babysitter for the remainder of the tour. I go wherever she goes and vice versa.”

“Hey,” Taylor said softly as she stepped onto the bus. Her hair was still damp and her face was bare. She looked a lot softer and more approachable without makeup. Cam decided he liked her that way, not that she didn’t take his breath away normally.

“Did you sleep late?” Alec asked.

“Yeah. I guess I was tired and I lost track of the time,” Taylor answered sitting down next to Cam, her leg brushing against his. He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull her flush against his side, but that wouldn’t happen today or any day in the near future. The guys couldn’t find out what happened between them.

“Are we ready to go?” Marcus said walking to the front of the bus to peer into the driver’s seat.

“Yep,” Jax said shuffling a deck of cards.

“Where’s Bre?” Cam asked.

“On the other bus,” Jax answered. “She’s painting today and she doesn’t want to be interrupted. She kicked me out.”

“She’s like that,” Cam laughed, but it sounded bitter. He remembered how secretive she was about painting or sketching. Wistfully, he wished he didn’t remember that or a million other quirks about her, but it was too late for wishes. Tarnished memories or not, Bre’s habits, likes and dislikes were burned into his brain. Life sucked that way sometimes.

Marcus and Alec sat down at the table again. “Are you in?” Marcus asked, gesturing toward Cam.

“What are you playing?” Cam leaned forward looking at the stack of chips spread across the table.

“Poker. Texas hold ‘em.”

“Nah, maybe later.” He didn’t think he could concentrate with Taylor in the room, not with his mind still spinning from what happened in her hotel room and his fingers still burning to touch her.

Leaning back, Cam stretched his legs out in front of him and tipped his head to the ceiling. With her taste still on his tongue and her scent swirling around him, beckoning him to touch her, he felt as if he were losing his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to forget that she sat next him, but then his mind zeroed in on every soft breath leaving her mouth and he started envisioning everything he’d like to do with her. No, this wouldn’t work. He couldn’t sit there feigning indifference. In a few more minutes, he’d shove her down on the sofa and finish what they started earlier; Alec, Jax and Marcus be damned.

Cam jumped up. “I’m going to watch a movie.” The guys didn’t say anything as he passed their table, but he could feel Taylor’s eyes singeing the skin on his back.

He passed the bathroom and the stacked bunks on either side of the bus, making his way to the rear. Unlike other tour buses that had a bedroom in the rear, this one had an L-shaped sofa and a flat screen television. Jax and Bre had their own bus so the guys opted for another lounge space rather than a private bedroom.

Cam laid down on the sectional and flipped on the television, finally settling on a violent action-adventure, hoping it would keep his mind off anything related to Taylor, the softness of her skin, the sounds she made when he touched her.

Unfortunately, ten minutes into the movie, he noticed Taylor hovering near the entrance of the lounge area. “Can I join you?” she asked timidly.

He wanted to say no; he needed to say no. But he couldn’t do it—not when she looked vulnerable and unsure as though she didn’t think he wanted her. Wanting her wasn’t the problem. Cam patted the spot on the sofa next him. “Sure, but I don’t think you’ll like my movie choice.”

“Anything is better than watching the guys play poker.” Taylor pulled the curtain between the lounge area and the front of the bus shut.

Cam wanted to tell her to leave it open, but he stopped himself. Opened or closed—it didn’t matter. He couldn’t touch her either way. She sat next him and neither of them said anything as they stared at the television. Cam could feel the tension building around them and it made him edgy. Maybe this was the reason he avoided relationships. Inviting someone into your life was too complicated, too much work. Being with Bre was easy because they’d know each other since they were kids. As pathetic as it sounded, since her, he hadn’t bothered get to know any of the women who passed through his life. They were just a means to an end.

“Did I do something wrong?” She placed her hand on his knee.

He rubbed his temples. He wasn’t ready to talk about what happened between them or what it meant because he didn’t understand it himself. “No.” He lifted the remote and started flipping through the channels.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

He turned to look at her. “I’ve looked at you.”

“Barely, and you couldn’t get away from me fast enough a few minutes ago.”

“Taylor…” he exhaled loudly searching his mind for the right words to say. “You need this job, right?”

Her eyes widened and she froze. “Yes.”

“And I need to stay out of trouble for the rest of the tour.”